NOTES ON THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2263, 24 September 1914, Page 4

NOTES ON THE WAR

The extent of th'e operations in France can be gathered from the message this morning which intimates that the Allies lines now extend from Lassigny in the north to Belfort in the south, a distance- of 240 miles as tho crow flics, but considerably more if the -positions of the various army corps are followed. This means that the main army, which is operating'between Lassigny and the Forest of Argonne—a front of about 100 miles—has been linked up with the eastern forces on thefrontier facing Lorraine and Alsace. The result is that the way has been closed along the whole of the German front to any advance in France, and, as the message states, this restricts the scope of tho movements of the German centre between Reims and Argonne. It probably will be recalled that between the points mentioned earlier in the war an open gap was left, and the Germans, utilised this especially in their operations when compelled to retreat. From all appearances the . Allies a-ro pressing forward successfully with their difficult task of dislodging the Germans from a strong position about 30 miles from the Franco-Bel-gian frontier. The method of.attack pursued is that which has characterised the main engagements throughout the war. The centre is content to do little more than hold its ground while the wings press forward persistently in an endeavour to turn the enemy's flank. Heavy rains, which have rnade> the lowlying country well-nigh impassable for heavy guns, have given the Germans an advantage, their heavy artillery, which was in position before tho , rains commenced, being very troublesome; but despite this the Anglo-French forces have steadily, though slowly, gained ground. Now their heavy guns are reported to be available they may hope to do even better, though it is plain that it is desperate work. The fact that Arras has been abandoned may be accepted as an evidence of the progress made by the Allies' loft wing. A glance at the map published in another column will show, the progress made since the Battle of the Marne, when the German Right Wing stretched away to the north-west from Meaux in the direction of Oreil.

The success of the; Allies' Left Wing has been accompanied with an advanoo by the Right Wing in the Argonne region to tho north-west of Verdun. Pressure at these points if maintained must oompel tho Germans to break ground all along the' line, and as there is every indication that the Allies are in a position to maintain that pressure wo may hope to learn very soon of a further retirement of tho German forces. Reinforcements are stated to have been hurried forward through Belgium to strengthen the German position, but it pan be safe- , .ly assumed that the Allies are now able to meet such, additions to the enemy's fighting line by fresh troops of their own. The official message intimates that the position of the Allies is quite satisfactory, and on the facts available this view would appear to bo fully justified. It is gratifying to note that Ehe British and French troops still appear to be able to more than hold their own in the hand-to-hand encounters which are continually taking place.

The Russians, as the result of a further defeat inflicted on tho retreating Austrian forces in Galicia, are convinced that there is little prospect of the Austrians resuming the in Galicia until the spring. This would seem to imply that the Russians expect to occupy Galicia during the coming winter without any serious opposition. This would enable them to concentrate their forces near the German frontier, ready for an advance in force when the winter, breaks—assuming, of course, that active operations are suspended during the winter. A winter campaign could be conducted only under tremendous difficulties, and despite the fact that

the Germans would seize the opportunity to strengthen their defences along the frontier, the delay probably would favour the Allies. In the spring, England will be able to throw a large new force into the field; Russia will have had time to bring forward all her vast forces to suitable positions at or near the frontier; and Germany, with her overseas trade dead, her industries idle, unemployment rife, will be weakened internally, and her financial strength sapped. The fighting will not cease altogether during the winter months, but the operations are not likely to be carried on on the tremendous scale at present being witnessed—that is, unless Germany attempts another surprise.

The good news available this morning is tempered by the information to hand of_ the torpedoing of three British cruisers of the Cressy class— the Cressy, Aboukir, and Hogue— which fell victims to German submarines while doing duty in the North Sea. The cruisers in question are fairly old vessels, built in 1901-2, belonging' to the Seventh Cruiser Squadron. No details are available of the circumstances of the encounter, bufi it is difficult to believe that the submarines accomplished their deadly work in the open sea. Probably the cruisers were engaged oh some risky mission which brought them within range of the operations of the submarines, and paid the penalty of their daring.; We must wait for details, and derive what satisfaction we can from the fact that the submarines which torpedoed the British vessels were themselves in turn destroyed. It is probable that vessels of the size of the dressy class, even though struck with a torpedo, would float for sufficient time to enable the majority of the crews to be saved. A comparison of the respective losses of the British and German fighting vessels to date shows that the British have lost 9 and the Germans 13, the German losses including four submarines. .'

Details which have so far come to hand.regarding the position on the border-lme between Cape Colony and German South-West Africa are somewhat meagre, but although a cablegram received a couple of days ago chronicled a minor British reverse, there is every reason to believe that an invasion of the German territory by the South African forces will not be long delayed. News received by the latest mail from the Cape is to the effect that on August 21 it was announced that German troops had crossed the border in the neighourhood of Nakob,where German and British posts face each other, and had entrenched themselves in Union territory. This is supplemented by the recent cablegram stating that a detachment of eight police holding the police post at Nakob had been attacked by an overwhelming force of Geimans. So far there is no word of retaliatory measures by the Union, but this is no doubt explained by the fact that the Cape railways stop a long distanceshort cf the German border, so that a good deal of time would necessarily be consumed in assembling a sufficient force and transporting it to the scene of operations. It is unlikely that the resignation of General Beyers from tho position of Com-mandant-General of the South African Defence Forces has any serious bearing upon the. position. It is somewhat difficult to reconcile the explanation tendered by General Beyers—that in his opinion loyalty to the British Crown did not require an act of aggression without provocation against a German colony—with tho reported fact that the Germans had crossed the border on or before August 21, but in any case there is no possible reason for casting doubt on the loyalty of the South African population. It has been made abundantly clear that the Union intends to tackle its share of the work in hand in the same spirit of loyalty and devotion as animates the other Dominions of the Empire.

The occupation of German South-. West Africa is not an enterprise that should present any great difficulties to the Union forces. If necessary, troops could be landed at suitable points alone the coast, for the British are established at Walfish Bay (practically at a midway point on the German coast-line) and the German Administration, at an early stage in the war, hurriedly evacuated their own coast stations and removed to Windhoek in the interior. Probably, however, the South African force would find it more convenient to advance by land. The total number of German troops in the colony is not large. It is estimated that thore are about. 2850 regular troopn including from 500 to 600 'cavalry, who were until recently stationed at Ukamas, a frontier post lying a little way to the west of Nakob. The European male population of the colony numbers about 9000, so that, making allowance for reservists, the Germans might be able to take the field with -five or six thousand men. They have a certain amount of artillery, the headquarters of this section of the force being at Windhoek. The' facility- with which the Germans were enabled to raid the Union territory is not remarkable, in view of the fact that there- is an arterial railway running practically through the whole length of their colony, roughly parallel with the coast. German South-West Africa, has an area of 322,450 square miles, and includes the region lying between Portuguese West Africa and Cape Colony. It has a, native population of about 80,000, and a European population of about 15,000. The whole southern part and much of the east is barren, but in other parts agricultural and pastoral industries have been extensively developed. The railways of the colony have a total length of 1304 miles, nearly half the mileage open in New Zealand. There arc 1,599,436 miles of telegraph line, and 415 miles of telephone line.

Wellington citizens who have had an opportunity of seoing the local section of the Expeditionary Force which is to represent New Zealand at the centre of war in Europe cannot fail to have experienced a glow of pride at the splendid stamp of soldier the Dominion is able to produce. A finer body of men it would be impossible to find anywhere. The great majority of the troops aro young, lusty fellows, a substantial proportion of them having that tough look which comes of a vigorous constitution and an outdoor life. They are eager for active service, and have shown great keenness in their work. A glance at them in the street is enough to show that they have profited by their military training and discipline. New Zealand is giving the Empire of her best, and she may well be proud of her sons who have cotno forward so readily to the oall of their country..

The very clear statement made this morning by the Attorney-General, the Hon. A. L. Herdman, concerning insurance against war risks should be helpful to those who may have been misled by the very confusing and misleading assertions made by ill-informed persons in and out of Parliament. The Home Government has undertaken to insure cargoes against war risks in order to maintain the trade of the Empire atits fullest possible state of activity. Exporters and importers who are concerned in overseas trading are thus enabled to make their arrangements on. a reasonable basis. Jik. Hekdman has on previous occasions pointed out the satisfactory nature of the arrangements made, but unhappily Sir Joseph Ward, who should know something of the subject, and Me. G.-W. Russell, who apparently is quite ignorant of the whole question, have thrown doubts on the position. The only excuse for their attitude, if excuse there is at all, is that they have been misinformed or have not troubled to inquire into the matter, being content to accept street gossip as conclusive evidence. ' The Attorney-General is. of course, speaking with inside knowledge, and even if there were any doubt- in the matter it ie fully removed by a perusal of official announcements in Australia, which entirely bear out the Minister's assertions. New Zealand and Australia are fortunately situated so far as the rate of insurance charged on war risks is concerned, the rate changed for cover on vessels trading to this part of the world apparently being lower than that fixed for any of the other Overseas Dominion."